Dentistry cover and dental Information about Dentist around the world Related Articles
Taverham Dental Health Clinic will cease all NHS treatment for both adults and children from 1 January 2024.
A letter sent to all of the practice’s patients claimed that “rising costs” caused by “chronic underinvestment in NHS dentistry by successive governments” has left the surgery unable to “provide the level of dental care you have come to expect and to remains a stable business”.
All NHS check-up appointments after November 30 have been cancelled.
Instead, adult patients have been offered membership plans ranging from £14 to £42 a month and under 18s at £8.50 a month, with joining fees of £9.50.
READ MORE: The Exchange Street protest was announced after the council’s ‘lazy’ U-turn
Stuart Clancy, Conservative district councilor for Taverham, described the news as a “huge blow” to the area.
“A disproportionate number of clinics in Norfolk have been affected by the privatization of healthcare,” he said.
“I don’t think the NHS contract is good enough.
“And unfortunately there is no short-term solution.
“I request a meeting with the clinic and the Integrated Care Board to further understand the situation.
“In the medium term, a new dental school at the University of East Anglia will help and I am also pushing for more dental services in Taverham.
“But I’m fully aware that it doesn’t help people with toothaches right now.”
READ MORE: Outgoing Norwich MP to take up new role at University of East Anglia
Mark Jones, a campaigner with the action group Toothless in Norfolk, described the news as “outrageous”, adding that his family had been patients with the operation.
He said: “Families are left to ‘go private’ and pay outrageous fees they can’t afford, seek dentistry themselves at home or live in fear that their family’s oral health will deteriorate to the point where they should be.hospitalized.
“The dental crisis in Norfolk is not going away any time soon, no matter how many new dental training school announcements or NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB statements are made.
Immediate action is required, including significant financial support and a comprehensive review of contracts.
Taverham Dental Health Clinic declined to comment further.
Labour’s plan to ‘save’ NHS dentistry
Labor MP for Norwich South, Clive Lewis, has previously described Norfolk as a “dental desert”.
Earlier this month, his party leader Keir Starmer unveiled a raft of pre-election policies that would “save dentistry from immediate crisis”.
This will include providing 700,000 emergency dental appointments and reforming the NHS dental contract, offering incentives for new dentists to work in areas of “greatest need”, introducing supervised brushing in schools for children three up to five years and “shifting the focus to prevention”.
The Conservative government has launched a consultation on how delays can be improved, including a proposal to give dental hygienists the power to administer medication without the need for a prescription.
However, his NHS dental recovery plan, a policy announced in April which aims to improve access and increase the number of NHS dentists, has not yet been published.
Speaking about this, Toothless in Norfolk’s Mark Jones said: “Patients in Norfolk find it impossible to access a dentist on the NHS.
“The Government had promised to present a recovery strategy for NHS dentistry in April.
“Well and good, but where is it?”
“Action is needed. Otherwise, NHS dentistry will be lost forever.”
